Wedding Weekend in Maine | Stef + Dave’s Bar Harbor Wedding

Stef + Dave hosted an elegant wedding weekend in Bar Harbor, Maine during the 4th of July weekend. They decided on the quaint bayside town, because one of their favorite places is Acadia National Park. 

Bar Harbor is a popular getaway destination and a cute, walkable town. Always thinking of their friends and families, Stef + Dave wanted to make sure that their guests would be able to walk around, get together in town- planned or spontaneously, and have a relaxing time during their wedding weekend. 

They met at law school, where they would bump into each other in the library. Stef had staked out a consistent study spot, and Dave also had his “regular spot”. After a few runs ins with each other, they decided to team up for study sessions. Stef + Dave slowly became friends, which led to taking longs walks together and chatting about other areas of their life.

As their friendship grew, so did their love interest, and the rest – as they say – is history. 😉 

They asked me to go to Maine with them to document their wedding, and of course I said YES!

*Keep scrolling to see more photos from their welcome party, rehearsal dinner, sunset cruise, and amazing wedding day!*

The Wedding Weekend

The Welcome Party

Stef + Dave had a welcome party for everyone as they arrived on the Friday, and Dave’s parents hosted the most beautiful rehearsal dinner, followed by a sunset cruise around the Harbor later that night. The cruise was full of drinks and laughter and Maine showed off her most gorgeous Maine sunset, just for us. Come wedding day, everyone in attendance felt like more than just guests-gathered. We knew we were spending the day celebrating with a close-knit, fun-loving, and supportive family. 

The Rehearsal Dinner: Stewman’s Lobster Pound Pavillion

The Sunset Cruise

The Wedding Day

Stef and I actually know each other from high school, where we were on the rowing team together. I was coxswain and she was my seven seat, so we spent hours and hours together on the water. It was a lot, but at the end of the year we won the Women’s Varsity 8 race at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. It was a huge accomplishment and we were SO excited! So when Stef told me the she and Dave were having their reception in the Stotesbury Ballroom of the Bar Harbor Club, you better believe we had those fuzzy feelings of, “Oh wow… yeah, this was meant to be.”

Why did Stef + Dave decide to have a destination wedding?

When Stef + Dave thought of the weddings they loved attending the most, they were destination weddings. They loved the way destination weddings built in time to reconnect with friends and family and spend more time together. So, why not bring everyone to their favorite place? Bar Harbor, Maine!

Often with a busy one-day wedding, you don’t have as much time to spend time with your guests. And as much as I will do my best to build in time to our timeline, it can be a lot harder to take a few minutes alone with your partner. Destination wedding weekends allow you and your soon-to-be spouse to spend many moments together. AND will give you so much more time catching up with the people most important to your lives.

 

An intentional wedding over the course of a weekend allows you so much more time to spend connecting with your loved ones- and for them to connect to one another.

The entire weekend was overflowing with excitement. All of the guests had traveled in to attend, and it felt like a family reunion and a fun high school and college reunion all rolled into one. Stef + Dave didn’t just host a wedding that started at 4pm and lasted until midnight- 

they invited their closest, most treasured friends and family, and hosted them for an  unforgettable wedding weekend. 

 

It was fueled by so much emotion, joy, and togetherness that it’s hard for me to look at their photos without tearing up. Stef + Dave both have really strong family values, and are incredibly loyal to their friends, their families, and to each other. You can see and feel that joy, trust, and togetherness. It resonated throughout their entire celebration. 

The details of Stef and Dave’s wedding details were stunning, but the excitement that pulsed throughout the wedding day is what really stood out.

 

I’m so grateful that they trusted me enough to capture these memories for them, and so happy that I got to reconnect with my old friend and teammate. Stef + Dave, thank you for welcoming me and my team into your family and for letting us join you for a wedding weekend I’ll never forget!

 

If you loved this elegant wedding weekend in Maine, you may also like this fun honeymoon adventure in Hawaii!

Interested in wedding weekend coverage for your own wedding? I’m in New Jersey but travel worldwide, so contact me if you want more info!